Contactless Transactions Are Having Their Moment

The word contactless is everywhere. In response to the pandemic, customers’ desire not to touch anything has risen from that-would-be-nice to must-have, and restaurants, hotels, casinos and theme parks are responding accordingly. Offering guests the ability to place orders and book experiences via mobile and digital, and to fulfill orders as touchlessly as possible is now seen as a key sales driver. Contactless can refer specifically to near-field communication (NFC) transactions such as those made via EMV bank cards featuring an integrated-circuit chip or via mobile wallet technology, which is now offered by Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple, Google, Samsung and a number of major retailers including clouded-loop mobile wallets by Walmart and Starbucks. More broadly, contactless can mean placing and fulfilling orders online or via mobile without “material contact” — from ordering pizza to booking and checking into a hotel. Here, we share some of the latest options for contactless payments, mobile capability, new opportunities for data collection and loyalty, and some of the major suppliers whose services are transforming guest experiences. A Safer Way to Pay While contactless payment capability has been around for more than two decades, and has steadily grown in popularity among consumers and businesses for its convenience and efficiency, the health risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have proved to be a turning point in its adoption. Paper money has long been understood to carry pathogens from the multitude of hands through which is passes, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently reported that even the traditional means of electronic transactions, such as plastic payment devices and bank cards, may harbor the novel coronavirus for up to 72 hours. The National Restaurant Association’s guidance for restaurants seeking to reopen suggests that they “Use technology where possible to reduce person-to-person interaction, including mobile ordering, menu tablets, texts on arrival for seating, and contactless payment.” With health and safety top of mind, customers prefer not to press buttons, sign touchscreens, position a payment terminal, or hand a bank card to a restaurant or hotel employee. No wonder a recent survey by Mastercard found that 51% of Americans use contactless payments regularly. The research also suggests the U.S. has plenty of room for growth in this regard — worldwide, nearly eight in 10 people report regularly using contactless payment technology. Tap-to-pay solutions, especially those made with EMV bank cards (the cards with an integrated-circuit, or “IC,” chip and a Wi-Fi icon displayed on the front), are gaining in popularity, with nearly one-third of Americans reporting that they prefer to use their contactless cards to conventional magnetic-strip debit and credit cards, which require swiping and a signature. In a dine-in restaurant, using a tap-to-pay card or a mobile wallet such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or one offered by the major credit card companies, with a pay-at-the-table device, such as those developed by TableSafe (tablesafe.com), allows for a completely touchless experience. Mobile Solutions: Quick & Easy When it comes to transactions via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, “quick and easy” is one of the major appeals to consumers — allowing guests to interact with a restaurant or hotel from anywhere. But “quick and easy” is also an accurate way to characterize the adoption of mobile solutions by hospitality brands seeking to pivot to contactless guest experiences. Without the need for new hardware investment or upgrades, a brand can literally empower customers’ mobile devices — via a branded app or web-based platform — to provide a frictionless experience. It can begin the moment a guest starts browsing options, and continue through to placing an order or booking a room, and, in the case of hotels, even including mobile check-in, communicating with hotel staff (or a friendly AI-driven chatbot), and checkout. Deploying a mobile solution can be surprisingly easy. SpotOn Restaurant can set up commission-free online ordering within 24 hours, including integration with POS, no fees for setup, and no software fees until January 2021. Appetize offers businesses the choice between a fully documented API and a streamlined web-based ordering system that requires no app download. Presto’s free Contactless Dining Kit allows guests to use their personal devices to scan NFC tags and QR codes to browse, order and pay, and can be set up in one day. Canary Technologies introduced a contactless check-in solution for hoteliers that can be activated in minutes: Hotels provide guests with a mobile link and instructions for verifying identify, checking in, and setting up payment, with no need to download an app and no need for any “material contact” with hotel staff. A Data Goldmine In addition to boosting efficiency, technology driving contactless transactions is a potential source of valuable data — lots of it. A typical example: A customer who downloads a restaurants’ app and is happy with the user experience and delivery, pickup, or dine-in process, is also comfortable sharing her email address and mobile number, and generally comes to trust the restaurant to use her contact information and ordering habits to provide better, personalized service. When the restaurant sends her a push notification on her most frequently ordered menu items, she feels that her data has been used in a positive way that only deepens her trust and likelihood to frequent the restaurant. In addition to leveraging data, contactless platforms tie into POS-based loyalty and rewards programs. Options for building loyalty include earning points or rewards for each purchase, and the ability for customers to view past orders, store preferences, and reorder favorites. A Gateway to Loyalty In addition to leveraging data, contactless platforms can also lead customers seamlessly to POS-based loyalty and rewards programs. Options for building loyalty include earning points and rewards each time a customer makes a purchase, and the ability for customers to view past orders, store their preferences, and reorder favorites.